Norman R. Shapiro, professor of Romance Languages and Literatures at Wesleyan University, is a widely published translator of French poetry, theater, and fiction. Among his many volumes are Four Farces of George Feydeau, nominated for a National Book Award, Fifty Fables of La Fontaine, Fifty More Fables of La Fontaine, Fabulists French: Verse Fables of Nine Centuries, named "Distinguished Book of the Year" by the American Literary Translators' Association, Selected Poems from "Les Fleurs du Mal," and the recent One Hundred and One Poems of Paul Verlaine. The selections in Fires are from All Gall: Malicious Monologues and Ruthless Recitations. The selections in Crossings are from the forthcoming volume Once Again, La Fontaine: Sixty New Translations from the "Fables" (Wesleyan University Press).